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New iPhone accessibility features include personal voice and live speech
Amritpal Kaur Sandhu-Longoria
USA TODAY
Apple unveiled new iPhone features to enhance communication accessibility for users who are blind, have low vision, are nonspeaking, or at risk of losing their ability to speak.
The new iPhone features include live speech, personal voice, a detection mode in Magnifier, and a custom interface for people with cognitive disabilities. These features were designed with help from members of various disability communities, and the new software features are slated for later this year, according to the company’s press release.
“At Apple, we’ve always believed that the best technology is technology built for everyone,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer.
Here is a rundown on what’s coming:
Assistive Access for users with cognitive disabilities
Users can customize their interface with high contrast buttons and large text labels in icon or grid-form on their phone’s home screen to help lighten the cognitive load. This feature also includes an emoji-only keyboard or option to record a video to share in Messages.
Live Speech and Personal Voice
This feature allows nonspeaking people or those who have lost their speech over time to type what they want to [...]